A passionate evangelist has died after a mountaineering accident while on holiday.
Eduoard Nelson, 45, was the pastor of Eglise Protestante des Ternes in Paris and Vice President of the National Council of Evangelicals of France (CNEF).
He was on holiday with his family - his wife and four children - when he had a climbing accident on Thursday morning which was witnessed by his son.
According to Evangeliques news site, the accident took place at the cliffs of Gaillands near Chamonix in the South of France.
Eduoard (or Edward) was taken to Annecy hospital by helicopter and was in intensive care with many friends praying for him from a distance.
The doctors said he only had a few hours to live as he had an inoperable head injury and on Friday, it was announced by the National Council of Evangelicals of France that he had died.
The group paid tribute to his faith and the praised the promise of God, saying: "We know that Edward is now with our God. His discernment, his love of the Gospel, his sympathy and his humor will be missed at the CNEF, as well as by all those who collaborated with him."
Former president of CNEF, Lhermenault Etienne wrote on social media: "I had the privilege of working closely with Edouard Nelson for 3 years. The news of his death is a real shock. Evangelical Protestantism loses a man of conviction, vision and action. I lose one of those who gave me unwavering support."
Eduoard had previously worked with the GBU - who do ministry with Christian Unions in universities in France.
Matthieu Sanders, a pastor at Eglise baptiste de Paris-Centre, a church with close links to Edouard's church, posted on Friday: "We still lack words to express the pain we feel.
"Edward was a man who had a tireless passion for the proclaimation of the Gospel. He was a man of vision who was at the centre of a new impulse, for several years, for the implementation of new churches in Paris. He was boiling with energy, zeal, [he had] a 'holy obsession' of the need to multiply the places and communities where the Gospel is proclaimed.
"He was a mentor and a trainer, who - allow me to express myself for a moment in personal terms - had a major influence on my life and ministry. He was a faithful friend. Many others, including my colleagues Paul Harrison and Paul Bourdois, can give the same testimony.
"In this drama, we want to pray for his wife Laura and their four children. Let's carry them sustainably in prayer."
